The Day Death Bowed In Death | Pastor Shane Idleman

The title is, The Day Death Bowed in Defeat. The Day Death Bowed in Defeat. And I came across a song. I just want to read the lyrics real quick that really sets the stage. Talking about even Friday into Sunday. It says, Stone-cold tomb, silence and fear. Mourning voices, death drawing near. But He calls the name. Breaks through the night. Grave clothes fall in the morning light. Not just words. Not just a preacher's claim. When He speaks, even death bows in shame. And that's why we are here. I mean, there's so many theological ramifications of what happened with the resurrection. And I believe when He talked about John the Baptist, when Jesus was preaching, He said, John the Baptist, tell now the kingdom suffers violence and the violent take it by force. And it was a spiritual upheaval that occurred. I mean, think about the Old Testament. The demons weren't worried. Please, don't cast us into the abyss. Let us go into these pigs. And the demons would always submit to Jesus. And so the resurrection really is

to prove who He said He was. That spiritual life that now He gives to those who believe. But what I wanted to do the last couple days is just look at Scripture. There's so much there beginning in Matthew 27. And I talked on Friday, make sure you hear that message, and Saturday it kind of builds up to this. And so Matthew 27, we're talking about after the cross. When evening had come, there was a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. You don't find that too often. A rich man becoming a disciple of Jesus. The reason is Jesus said it's hard for a rich man to enter heaven. It's not wealth necessarily that makes it hard. It's the love of money. And that becomes their God. And when you have that, I mean, look at the billionaires right now. Do they really think they need God? No. They can just fix it with this and that. And that's why it's really hard for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of heaven because you have to see your spiritual poverty. And so this man went to Pilate. Remember Pontius Pilate? Who was the one who washed his hands of Jesus' death, but still he was the one who allowed the crucifixion.

And they said, can we have Jesus' body? And then Pilate said, go ahead and give it to him. And Joseph took the body and he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and he laid it in this new tomb, which he had really hewn out of the rock. So they would go into the rock and they would make this tomb. It was for a rich man, but they laid Jesus in that tomb. And he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb and departed. We don't know exactly the details. The rock was probably somewhat easy to move in circular, but it probably took some men, it took some mechanisms to move this and to block that tomb. And then it goes on to say, this is when Pilate sets a guard. I mean, I kind of laugh at this every time I read it. You're gonna guard God? Okay. But on the next day, which followed the chief priests, the Pharisees, they gathered together. Now this is very interesting. See, those of you maybe who don't believe or you're agnostic or atheist, or you just think that Jesus, the story was kind of, you know, maybe it's real. I don't know. I want you to think about this for a minute. The chief priests, the Pharisees,

the religious leaders of Jesus's day said, hey, we remember when Jesus was still alive, how that deceiver said, Jesus is the deceiver. That deceiver said, in three days, I will rise again. So they acknowledged that he said that. They were worried about that, that they would come and take the body. And now there's some conspiracy theory. So my challenge is, can I run to people a lot, so do you, that say, well, yeah, I mean, he was a good teacher, man. He was a good teacher. If that's all he was, guys, he was actually a terrible teacher. He was a liar. He was a fraud. He was a lunatic if he didn't rise from the dead. Because he said, in three days, I'll rise from the dead. That's not a good teacher. That's a lunatic. It's a liar. All this. It would be false. But of course we know, as C.S. Lewis said, a lunatic, a liar, or the Lord Jesus Christ. And I only challenge that because those are your options. You cannot say he was a good teacher. Drop that language. If anybody says that, you have to challenge,

you know he wasn't, that's all he was. Again, understand what I'm saying. Of course he's a good teacher, he's the best teacher. But he's also a fulfillment of Scripture in that he is the Messiah. He can't just, oh he's a good teacher, I think he was, you know, he just got rebellious and they killed him. No, that's actually not an option. A good teacher is not an option. A great prophet, I hear that from different religions sometimes. I mean, Islam thinks he's a great prophet. Oh, he was a great prophet. That's all he was? No, that is incorrect because they said he is going to rise again after three days. And so because of this, go ahead and put a guard around this entire tomb. Command that tomb to be secure. And you know it was. I mean, remember, these Roman soldiers are, you know, tough guys. They don't mess around. They actually, if they lose this body, they will be killed. They're not gonna fall asleep. They probably work in the night shift anyway. And they were, I'm sure, walking around. Here's a tomb, like right there probably.

And there's just a lot of soldiers guarding it to make sure that what they're worried about doesn't happen. That he's risen from the dead. And they said something interesting. So the last deception will be worse than the first deception. So the Pharisees, the last deception would be that he rose from the dead. The first deception to the people is that he is the Messiah. See how they have this all backwards? They mention deception twice. He will deceive us. He will deceive the people. So I have to bring this up to you this morning. What is deception? Deception is the act of causing someone to accept as true what is false. That's why there are deceptive pulpits. There are wolves in sheep's clothing. There are deceptive religions. They are trying to convince you, Satan's been doing it since day one. They're trying to convince you that that which is false is true. What do I do then? Well, what do we always talk about? You get in the Word. You bury your face in the Word.

You understand the Word. You learn the Word. That's your gauge for truth. Yeah, but men wrote it. How do you know if that's your way? I mean, your way's right. How about all these other ways? I'm sure these people are good as well. And that would take a sermon series to unpack the archeological accuracy of the Bible, the historical accuracy of the Bible, the scientific accuracy of the Bible, the prophetic accuracy of the Bible, the confirmation of Scripture, the witness of the own Holy Spirit, how there's so many different manuscripts and the testing of, if you truly, here's the problem. People truly don't want answers. If they did, they would ask God, show me, what is your truth? And they would, evidence that demands a verdict is a great book. There's other new books out there that talk about, I mean, there's just so much. God didn't just tell you to believe in pie in the sky. It is evidence. I mean, it's just clear that these places existed. These kings ruled. This happens when a person believes.

All millions and millions and millions of people testify. I was lost, but now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. My sins have been forgiven. That weight has been lifted. What do you do with that? No other religion has that. What they're doing is they're following moral codes and they think this is how they're gonna get to God, but there's no change. Now, they might change temporarily and apply discipline to certain areas. Oh, when I became a such and such, now I don't drink anymore. Well, you can be sober, but not saved. Deception, deception. Let me talk about four deceptions since I won't see many of you again. You'll get that on your way home. Guys, I'm trying to be nice. I'm trying to like, but it's true. We want to see you every Sunday. We want to see you every Wednesday. Thank you. Big deception number one that's out there. You can sin and still be saved. Now, I'm gonna let it sink in for a minute because we'd all be saying. Oh, I'm in trouble. Yesterday, I...

But here's the missing link to that. Even Jesus says those who practice lawlessness will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. It's not those who struggle. Those who fall, and they say, Lord, help me. I repent. There's a clear difference. That's the difference between night and day. Light and darkness, truth and error, right and wrong, heaven and hell. Those who practice. Like, you know what? That's just who I am. I repented when I was 12. I think I went to some crusade when I was 12. I mean, I'm going to heaven, I think. Yeah, but I'm not going to give up that lifestyle. That's who I am. I cheat on my wife. Okay, big deal. I like to get drunk on a regular basis, man. It's fun. See, there's a big difference between somebody heartbroke over their sin and wrestling through it and seeking God and repentant, than someone who is just blazing about it. You know what? I'm not going to change. It's who I am. And that's why I believe the Bible

gives so many different incidences or actually struggles or lifestyles. He goes down, right? Adulterers. By the way, pornography is adultery in case you're, oh, Shane, I just want to hear about the empty tomb today. I don't want to get too convicted. Well, I got you here and I might not get you back, so you're going to have to hear it while you're here. So, I committed to tell the truth, not tickle the ears. Now take it up with the Lord. So, it says neither adulterers nor fornicators, so don't get too comfortable if you're shacking up and you're going out and hitting the club scene. You're not married yet. Adulterers, fornicators, what else does it say? YouTube might ban me again. Homosexuality, liars, thieves, covetous, all these things, because it's a lifestyle. So, when somebody says, I was born this way, well, I was born to sin, too. Doesn't make it right. I was born to be a lying, thieving, adulterer at heart. That's how I was born. That's why I need a Savior. That's why this is a point of salvation. But people say that they think they can still embrace a sinful lifestyle that is so clear in Scripture and they think they're still good with God. That's living in deception. And that's why it said, don't just be hearers of the Word,

but be doers also, or else you live in deception. And that is, in the church, big deception right now, that you can embrace what the Bible clearly calls sin and still be saved. Now, hope for the struggler. I'm not trying to beat you up. I'm trying to encourage you. If you are repentant, if you are repentant and you confess, that's a lot different than embracing the lifestyle, because you're acknowledging that that is wrong. That's the difference. That's what repentance is. It's a change of mind that leads to a change of action. And that's why repentance for salvation is so powerful and profound, because you're changing your mind about the way you think of sin. And we have to encourage people who are caught, don't we? We have to encourage them and let them know, hey, get back up. You don't have to sin. You don't have to. Oh, woe is me, I'm gonna sin. No, no, no, no, that's not the right approach either. The right approach is to follow God, to seek God, to live for Him. Another big deception. Are you ready for number two? I don't know. This one's gonna be tough.

All religions lead to God. I might say something to wake you up. All religions will lead to God. Well, let me finish before you get upset. Because they will stand before the great white throne judgment someday. Here's what you need to say. All religions do not lead to salvation. All religions, any religion, you will stand before God someday. And if you reject Jesus Christ, there is no sacrifice for your sin. So yeah, all religions will lead to God, but many will be on the broad road to destruction. And few on the narrow road that leads to eternal life. All religions can be wrong, but they cannot all be right. Shouldn't that give us a reason to think a little bit? And those maybe who aren't following God? You can't say all these... They all contradict each other. Go ask a practicing Muslim if we're on the same page. Go ask Mormons to unpack the Watchtower. That's Jehovah's Witnesses. Are we on the same page here? But here's the thing, many of them don't want to talk about it.

That's just the truth. Be quiet. Don't say anything. Leave me alone. And here's why. Christians love... I mean, I would love for Mormon Jehovah's Witnesses to say, hey, can we sit down and talk about the Bible? Absolutely. When? But you go to them and say, hey, can we talk about the differences according to Scripture? Nope. Nope. You're judgmental. You're arrogant. You're mean-spirited. You're just causing division. Why? Because when you don't have the truth, you don't want to be exposed. All religions do not lead to salvation. Jesus was crystal clear. There is no other way. No other way. You have to come directly to the Father through the Son. And you look. You've got to go deep because they'll say the right thing. Have you ever talked to a different...

I mean, they say the right thing. You start to dig a little deeper. And you find out, oh, no, we're not on the same page. We are not on the same page. We will not be like God someday. And God was not like us. Jesus and Lucifer were not brothers. And they offered their plan of salvation. Jesus was not a prophet, a good teacher, but we really are saved by following these moral codes outlined in our religion. There's no salvation. Actually, you can press... If you go deep, even the teachings, and I know people leave every time I talk about this, but I've got to deal with it. That's between me and God, not other people. But if you look at what Roman Catholicism actually teaches, I was an altar boy. I know. There are so many things that are off scripturally. So many things off scripturally. You can go back. I don't remember what council it was,

but it says there is no salvation outside the Catholic church. Blasphemy. Complete blasphemy. You don't have to go be punished for your sins in purgatory for a while. Can't we call this stuff out in love? Guys, this is urgent. Everybody wants to be quiet while people are on the way to hell. I have a problem with that, and so should you. Shoot them straight and tell them, no, no, no, do business with the Lord. Seek Him. Let Him open the eyes of your understanding. Let Him show you. I remember somebody set up this interview. It was painful. A big priest in Valencia, 4,000 member church, we're sitting in there, and I said, but what's the point of purgatory? I'll never forget. I almost started crying. He said, well, Shane, how do you deal with your sin and guilt? I said, well, I already dealt with my sin and guilt. What are you talking about? What are you talking about?

You're having dealt with yours. Are you saved? I don't think so. You don't put a 12-foot statue of Mary out front and say, Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed art thou among women. Pray to Mary. You want to get to Jesus? Go to His mom. That's blasphemy. That's blasphemy. I don't like to say things. I don't like to get mean emails and this and that, and I'm being used of the devil to cause division. No, I'm being used of God to bring light to the darkness. That's a big difference. And if you're so right, let's sit down with the Word and see what the Word says. I remember, I don't know, how many years ago was this now? Seven years? I had, it was exhausting. I invited a Jehovah Witness. witness into my house and he brought his elder, whatever that is, that was tough. I knew within a minute, can I just open in prayer

and pray to Jesus? No, we don't pray to Jesus. Oh, well, I don't know where this is gonna go. And you start to unpack, it just gets so frustrated because you're so like, no, no, that's not, don't use the watchtower to interpret the Bible. See, that's the problem. Use the Bible to interpret the Bible because I can take this and say whatever it says. And was it just yesterday, my daughter's like, hey, there's a Jehovah's Witness at the door. I'm like, I don't have time. I'm exhausted. But I prayed, Lord, have them come back if you want me to talk to them. But I don't, sometimes you can't, you're just, they're not there yet. They're brainwashed into the watchtower is their book. And that's how they interpret the Bible. Mormons use the Book of Mormon to interpret the Bible. What did Joseph Smith say? What did Brigham Young say? And a lot of things they said were wonky. It's like, people, open up your eyes to this. But it's hard, every time you talk to people, they don't wanna talk to you. I'm like, if you have the truth, don't you wanna talk to me? If you have the truth, come and set me straight. Please, tell me.

But when you bring the truth, no. Why, because the truth is open for scrutiny. The truth says, bring it. Let's open the Word. It's a big deception. Countless, countless millions are being led astray because of false religions. And of course, I'll get the pushback, but who are you to say yours is right? Oh, trust me, this is not my religion, folks. Oh, trust me. God reached down, He saved a lost boy. And He redeemed me by the blood of Christ and filled me with the Spirit. And it's Him, it's Him reaching down. It's Him reaching down and saving man and calling man to repentance. No other religion calls you to repentance. They are reaching up to God and they've got all these good works. But Christianity is God reaching down to man. I gotta get going or you're not getting out of here. The third lie, and I'll go quick, and I love this one. I'm probably gonna get it today. You can't judge. Who are you to judge? Jesus said judge not. They got me there. The problem is there's not a period after that statement. Guys, you need to understand this.

That is a false thing. Hollywood loves to throw it out there. Jesus actually encourages us to get our hearts right first. Get your heart right first. Remove the plank out of your eye. Humble yourself. Come in a spirit of gentleness, humility. And then you can judge rightly. It's actually dealing with the arrogant, critical, in-your-face heart that always wants to just slam you. He said, hey, get your heart right. And then actually, did you know we're supposed to judge? We're not supposed to walk around like, golly gee whiz, I don't know, just let whatever happened happen. I don't wanna say anything political, goodness gracious. I don't wanna say anything this, I don't wanna come against any, no, no, no. We're to discern with righteous judgment as believers. Schools to go to, how to, so many different things, and you look at what does God's Word say. Lifestyles that oppose His will and His ways. You don't go and attack people. You're like, you know what, that's not right. I'm supposed to discern. I'm actually called to judge. And you silent, silent Christians, you might wanna take that to the Lord. It's good to be silent a lot and not step on toes

and err on the side of grace. But if your position is always silence, silence actually speaks volumes. Because when we say nothing, we say something. I tell my kids all the time, they'll tell me things they wanna do, and a couple days later, oh, Dad never said anything. That doesn't mean acceptance. That means Dad's processing it. That means Dad doesn't wanna get into an argument today. My silence does not mean approval. And then the last one I'll share. Good people go to heaven. This is a big deception, and I'm gonna tell you right now, right up front, good people do not go to heaven. People who go to heaven. Heaven are good because of what Jesus did. They actually, it's called, you ready for a big term? Imputed righteousness. You take on, this is amazing. I mean, you take on the righteousness of Christ. So I can stand, you can stand before the Father. Oh, with shame. Good job with your life on earth there. You've got, man, you did a lot. Look at all these good things. It won't even come up. Now, we might be judged as believers

for the works we did, and that's a whole other topic. Unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne judgment. But you stand before, God, I can't even imagine. Guys, your parents won't be with you on that day. Don't ride anybody's coattails. You have to stand before God alone and barren. And you better make sure you have that righteousness of Christ on you. It's basically you pass away and whatever it looks like, I don't know, but well done, thou good and faithful servant. Entered into the joy of the Lord because of what Jesus did. Or, I mean, these things blow my mind We avoid these Bible verses. Jesus said, depart from Me. I don't even know you. Wouldn't that cause you to kind of, I've got to look into this a little bit. I've got to look into this a little bit. For many will come to Me in that day and say, Lord, Lord, we did all these things in Your name. And He says, depart from Me. I don't even know you. You who practice lawlessness. See, there it is again. Sin is a lifestyle and I'm practicing it.

I don't even know you. Depart from Me. So you guys got me off track. You ready to get back on track? The fast forward version. Pilate said to them, after we spent 20 minutes on deception, Pilate said, okay, we haven't got to the resurrection yet. So Pilate said, you, go guard God. Go put a guard up and make it secure as you know. So they went and they made the tomb secure and they sealed the stone and they set the guard all around it. Like I said, go secure God. And we know, we know that anybody who tries to stop God gets destroyed. I've been teaching an act. We just saw Herod elevated himself. He got destroyed. Sennacherib in the Old Testament cursed God and he was annihilated. The Assyrians mocked God and God wiped them off the planet. Pharaoh challenged God and they were drowned in the sea. The Philistines blasphemed God and God took them out. The Babylonians boasted. No enemy has ever stopped God. Now, as I talked about Friday, this is your hour when darkness reigns. Sometimes there's a temporary victory but it's only to fulfill God's plans. And I wanted to remind you today

that I said what I said last night. I looked up a lot of famous atheists and I don't recognize many of their names that dawned on me. There's no atheists in hell. They now believe. Think about, they now believe. Oh, yeah, clearly I was wrong on this one. You don't just stop existing. All of them are converted, not to be saved, but to the knowledge of I was wrong. Many of them may gnash their teeth. Many of them, we don't know what that looks like. But now, here it happened. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, as Sunday began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb and behold, there was a great earthquake. Can you imagine that? Earthquake. A reminder that we are on the San Andreas fault line, so if you feel anything, praise God for his strength and security. But there's a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. So an angel came down. He rolled back the stone from the door. I like this angel. He sat on it and sits on it.

I mean, you're talking a couple tons. There's no way this is gonna happen. And so what happened when he did that, his continence was like Moses back then, was like lightning. His clothing was white as snow and the guards shook for fear. of him and became like dead men. That's exactly what happened. His body was not taken while they all slept. Rolled away some big stone. Pulled out this body. This is what happened. The angel opened that tomb and it showed that he was not there. But this might help somebody. I don't know why I added it, but I think it's good to know. As the first day of the week began on Sunday, and I only say this because I get some correspondences sometimes. People are confused. During the first few centuries of Christianity, there was no set day of worship. A lot of times it was secret because their life was going to be on the line. They didn't publicly announce it. And then one of the earliest references

to Sunday worship can be found in the writings of Justin Martyr in the second century. Second century. He talked about how Christians would gather together on a Sunday. They would read Scripture. They would listen to sermons. And they would partake in the Lord's Supper. So here's what happened. Just in case many of you are wondering, do you ever drive the 395 freeway? You see that billboard that says worshiping God on Sunday is the mark of the beast. So all of us are going to hell basically. And there's people who won't come here because we don't worship on Saturday. The reason is eventually the Emperor Constantine declared Sunday a day of worship. Through Constantine, there's some questions on his character then the Roman Catholic Church made it the official day. And then somebody by the name of who I would consider a false prophet, Ellen G. White, said in Revelation 13 that the papacy is the mother of all harlots. And then Revelation 17 that we Protestants are her daughters because we meet on Sundays. And there's so many things I could get, this lady is just so off. And we have to be careful in this area

because this lady said her church was the only one and true church on the earth. Have you heard that before? That's how Joseph Smith started the Mormon Church. An angel appeared to him. Just look, don't ask, just look it up. An angel appeared to him and said, all other religions are wrong, or sects of Christianity, this is during the time of D.L. Moody and Spurgeon by the way, but you're gonna do the right one. Okay? And then I would, if I was him, wouldn't you think, Paul said, if an angel comes to you and gives any other gospel, let him be accursed. Wouldn't that kind of jump out a little bit? Angels talking to you, having you start something that's not biblical. You can look up what other religions started by an angel visiting. It's amazing. And so we do see deception. And that's why I mention those things. I don't mention those things because I'm arrogant. I don't mention those things because I wanna pick a fight. I mention those things to tell people the truth. Everything I just said about all those different, it's all true. Just dig a little bit.

Because you're ready to be, oh no, we believe in Jesus. Okay, well let's have a conversation about what that looks like. Do you believe that he is the son of God, the Messiah that died for, well, not quite. You're getting a little bit, well what part of Jesus do you believe? Because if you don't believe that part, that's the main part. Watch that language that likes to trick you. They've been conditioned to do that. But the angel said to the women, don't be afraid. I know that you seek Jesus. I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen, as they said. Come and see the place where the Lord lay. He's no longer there. Go quickly. Tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and indeed he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have told you. I know that you seek Jesus. I know that you seek Jesus. Can I shoot you straight this morning? Many people at churches, many people here today are not truly seeking Jesus. They'll get to church when they can. Somebody's making me go.

It's kind of an inconvenience. To truly seek Jesus, the Bible talks about there's a hunger. There's a desire as a deer pants for that water. Oh, my soul. I will put on my old pants for thee. And I will seek You until I find You. I will get rid of that junk on my media and I will put on things that honor You and these relationships that are taking me down. Lord, I want to seek You, and if You seek me, You will find me. Many people are not seeking Jesus. They are going through the emotions. I know. I've been there. I was back row Joe. I would get in there about 20 minutes after worship started and I didn't have to hear too much of that. I've got to put my Metallica on. Or George Strait, depending on what mood I was in. All my exes live in Texas. And I worship. Worthy is the Lamb. My goodness. What the? These people are weird. I was lost. I wasn't hungry for spiritual things because I was feeding on death. And that's what happens. Many here even this morning are not truly seeking Jesus.

I'm not talking about struggling or having a hard time. Amen? I'm in the biggest struggle of my life right now. I know that. But that's when you lean in more. That's when you press in more. That's when you look to Him more. But there is a hunger. There's a desire. There's a focused attention. There's movement towards Him. There's motivation to serve Him. Again, we don't do it perfectly. We've got this flesh that wants to disrupt everything the Spirit wants to do. The Spirit's willing, but the flesh is weak. And maybe you just need to pray, Lord, help me. I want to seek You. I want to be filled with Your Spirit. I want more of You. Please, God, show me how to do that. You get to that point of desperation and repentance. And so they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy. And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, Rejoice! Whoa! So they went and held on to Him and worshiped Him.

And He said, do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. You can conquer fear because of the resurrection. And He said, go and tell everybody. And now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city. Hey, He's gone! And so the elders, you would think they would say, are you kidding me? This must have been the Messiah. Incredible revival in the Sanhedrin. Nope. Oh! They even said an angel. They said what happened. And they said, go tell them you fell asleep. What deception! The soldiers told them the truth, and they still rejected the truth. What a message for us today. What do you do with the truth? Tell them the disciples took the body. And if it comes to the governor's ear, we will help you. And that's what the Jews still believe until this day. I want to double-check last night. I looked at Ben Shapiro's comments on Joe Rogan.

I think Jesus was a rebel who got killed for his trouble. Because He's a Jew who believes the Old Testament, the Messiah has not yet come. What do you do with Jesus? What do you do with Jesus? That is the key question. Listen guys, don't criticize me for being too hard if you're too soft. We have to shoot people straight. If they took the body, you have to wrestle with this. If they took the body, history records, it's not in the Bible, Peter, the ringleader of taking that body was crucified upside down in Rome. James was beheaded. James the less was stoned and beaten to death. If you went and hid the body to try to make up some religion, as soon as they knocked on your door, hey guys, I'm turning state's witness. I'm becoming a tattletale. So I don't go to jail. I'll tell on my friends. Nobody's going to go through these horrific deaths unless they met the risen Savior. That's why people can go to their martyrdom. Did you know on Palm Sunday, 12 people in Nigeria were massacred?

Thomas blows by spears. Simon stabbed with the sword. Bartholomew crucified. Andrew nailed to an X-shaped cross. Matthew crucified. and John was punished for the rest of his life on the island of Patmos. All because they stole the body. Not only that, you can't explain to change life. Not only that, you can't explain the evidence is crystal clear. And after this, here's what He said. You guys ready? So the disciples went to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted. But some doubted. Let me tell you this morning, if you're having a hard time with some of this and you're doubting, take it to the Lord. I do not condemn you. I still have lots of questions. I have lots of questions about a lot of things, but I'm not going to hell over a question. Know for certainty that Jesus Christ is your Savior. And if there are doubts, how do I know the Bible? How do I know? Take it to the Lord. I truly believe, and I think we can back up with Scripture,

that's another sermon for a later date, that those who are genuinely seeking will find Him. What about the guy in Africa? Never heard, well, if he looks at the sun and goes, you know what? It's a pretty big light. Boy, oh boy. Where did this come from? Great one. If you're out there, I want to know you. Who are you? Why are so many Muslims having dreams of Jesus? It's amazing why God will show you. That's why, I believe it says, Romans 1, His invisible attributes are clearly seen. So they are without excuse. People have no excuse. It's obvious that they are not God. Can we get that cleared up right now? If you're God, how did you create yourself? How do you keep that heart pumping? How are you gonna keep yourself alive? You can't. Every breath is a gift from God. And so Jesus came and He said, all authority, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples. And that's why we say, again, I don't want to unpack too much because it takes a while to really go to Scripture.

But something happened at the resurrection and the crucifixion that the Old Testament didn't, it was waiting for this incredible moment where now all authority, and that's why they say conquered hell, death, sin, and the grave. Something cataclysmic spiritually happened. All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. The Satan no longer runs around like a little, you know what? But now he has to submit under my authority. And He said, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. And when you make disciples, what do you tell them? You tell them everything I told you today. You baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And that's why baptism is so important. It's a public declaration. Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I'm not, He wasn't embarrassed of me when He hung on that cross naked and bruised and beaten. I'm not gonna be embarrassed in front of Him. And it also represents death, burial, and resurrection, the newness of Christ, the new life. Get baptized if you haven't. Or if you did as a child like I did and was sprinkled, you have to do it as a believer's baptism. Or maybe the prodigal son, I did it at 12 because I wanted to go in the pool. And then I had to do it again at 30

because the prodigal son was coming home. And there's something special about publicly identifying with Jesus Christ. Yes, that's a commercial for baptisms after this. But it's in the Bible. And so we say, I say, based on your profession of faith in Jesus Christ in front of these people, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And it's incredible, some people cry. Some people have breakthroughs. Not everybody's emotional all the time, but there's a turning point. Something changes. Because if you know you need to be baptized and you're not, you're in disobedience. I don't know how else to say it. God didn't call me to be popular. Teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you and I will be with you always. Always. So I'm gonna close with this. I think I did a few weeks ago. John 4, I just love this verse. I love this story. I like when movies make it into a story too. Just to watch that Jesus answered. This woman at the well, remember she had lots of boyfriends or lots of husbands. She's living with a guy, wasn't her husband.

Jesus still loved her. That's actually who we go after. I want those people here. I want those people who need God and need hope. I don't need that religious spirit, that arrogant religious spirit. All they wanna do. All they want to do is tell you how great they are. You go find another church. I want the people who are broken and humble and desperate for more of God, they're lost. They're lost and they need God. Remember, he said to her, if you knew the gift of God, the Messiah, a well sitting on top of a well. If you knew the Messiah, if you knew the gift of God, you would give me a drink and I would give you living water. I would give you living water. But it always goes back to this question, if, if, if, if, if, if you do this, I will do this. That's the thing people don't get about God. He's not going to just force you to do something. Yes, I love his sovereignty. I trust his sovereignty. But there's a lot of if scriptures. We've got to turn this nation around. If my people humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. If you seek me, you will find me.

If you allow this mind to be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal with God. He humbled himself. If you do this, I will do this. If you obey the word, I will do. If, if, if, if you drink deeply. So here's the thing, the Christian drinks. I continually drink of that living water, don't you? Why? Because I'm leaky. I got holes in here. I need that fresh filling of the Holy Spirit often. Borrowing a quote from D.L. Moody. So the Christian drinks deeply of that well to be nourished. But the unbeliever must drink to be saved. You must turn your heart completely over to him. And so today's question, I'll leave you with this. Was he deserving of death? Was he the Messiah? Was he the Messiah? Was he the Anointed One? Was he the Christ that was to die for your sin? That is the question we must answer. And I don't know if we still have the clip. Sarah from Friday. Kevin, if so, we can turn up the volume. Turn down the lights. It's just a one minute clip that really helps put it into perspective

of this question. And how are we going to handle it? And remember, without the shedding of blood, there is no removal of sin. Think about that. Without payment for penalty, the judgment remains. And without the absorbing of wrath, there is no pardon. And that's the question that we also have to deal with this morning. This Sunday can go down in history as the day that changed your life. Or it can just be another day. A forgotten day. How many people remember what they did last Easter? Not very many, but they remember when they came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. The Messiah told them He was the Messiah. Maybe some of you need to get back on track with the Lord. Maybe you're a Christian, but you're a prodigal. Because remember that song, Amazing Grace, it still leads me home. It still leads me home. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

that saved a wretch like me. It's God saying, son or daughter, I never walked away. That's the lie prodigals believe, don't they? Son or daughter, I never walked away. Come back to the loving Father. Come back to Me, He says to you. And maybe there are those here who don't know God. You've been playing games, you've never made that decision. The Bible could not be more clear. There is no gray area. There's no wiggle room. Truth is not flexible. Jesus Himself said, I am the only way, the only truth, the only life. Nobody, nobody comes to the Father except through Me. You have to repent and believe. It's really that simple.